Synchronization
by Viktoryus
Summary: Unexpectedly, Henry and Emma meet Regina in their favorite bookshop. There's some talk of books, tea, and pastries. Also a very adorable tiny Henry. Mostly about fate, serendipity, and having impeccable timing. There are mentions of other OUAT characters but it's very brief. Once again, the story is mine but the characters are not. SwanQueen. AU. One-shot.


Regina walks into her favorite book store on a Sunday afternoon with the sole intention of finally getting some time to herself. Her mom and dad are in town visiting and have been staying with her for the last week and a half. She loves her parents, she really does, but she also really misses the complete solitude that comes with living alone. So when they tell her that they will probably be spending most of the day exploring some of the local antique markets and that she does not have to accompany them if she chooses not to, she uses that to her advantage by telling them that she has some personal errands anyway.

She stops by the cafe just inside the small shop to order some hot tea. While she waits, she thinks about how her mom and dad have been pushing for her to go out and meet more people. They have never been the kind of parents to really pester Regina or her older sister about dating but for whatever reason, they have been exceptionally annoying this trip. They have not stopped reminding her that they are ready to be grandparents.

Regina has pretty much been single since after her last relationship ended nearly three years ago. She was heartbroken for a long time and when that eventually passed, she had enough distractions in her life to not have to think about dating at all. She has been on dates of course, but no one that she has gone out with has really made her feel like they were really worth her time. She constantly jokes with her best friend Killian about how she is going to be perpetually single. He tells her that she is too picky but Regina knows that it is because what she is looking for, the kind of love she still believes in, just does not exist.

Her sister, who very recently got engaged, is probably the reason that her parents have been giving her so much hell. Because if Zelena, the all-time cynic and hater of anything romantic, can find someone that she wants to spend her life with, then there is no doubt that Regina will find love again. When her sister told her about the engagement a few months ago, Regina was shocked because she did not even know that her sister was dating, let alone ready to marry someone. But Zelena assured her that she was more than certain that her and her fiancé were meant to be together. That the timing in which they met and fell in love was somehow all synced perfectly. Regina was skeptical of course, but seeing her big sister so happy was enough reason for her to consider the idea of two people finding love precisely when the timing is perfect for both parties. However, her own timing has always been terrible with any and every relationship she has been in, so maybe synchronization does not happen for everyone. She sighs internally at that thought.

When her tea is ready, she thanks the barista and heads over to her favorite chair that is hidden in the corner by the science fiction and mystery sections. She sits and pulls out the novel that she started weeks ago but has not had time to finish and begins reading while sipping at her tea.

Emma and Henry have been in Seattle for a several weeks now but Emma has yet to feel that her and Henry could make this place their home. They are currently staying with Ruby who has been urging them to come visit since she moved here a couple of years ago so when her and Neal finally came to terms with their irreconcilable differences, Seattle was the first place that came to her mind. Luckily, Emma has saved up enough money so that she does not need to find a job until she is absolutely sure that this will be a good place to raise her son. While they have explored a lot of the city, her and Henry's most favorite place to be is an independent bookshop that is within walking distance of Ruby's place.

When Emma and Henry arrive at the bookshop, she pulls open the door for them and Henry immediately runs over to the children's section. Emma paces quickly after him and when she catches up, she swoops him in into her arms. "Henry, no running. Or we go home, do you understand?"

Henry looks apologetic as he hugs his mother, "Sowry, momma…"

She puts him back down and tells him to go pick out a book so that they can go read it in his favorite chair. They look around for a while before he decides on a picture book with a giraffe on the cover. They start walking over to their favorite spot when Emma notices a book on display that she has heard about and is interested in. "Hang on one second, Bub. Mommy wants to look at something real quick." He stops and grabs onto one of her legs. She grabs the book and begins reading a bit of it without noticing that Henry has turned and walked off.

Regina is so engrossed in her book that she does not notice that someone has walked up to her until they are pulling on her pant leg. She looks away from her book to see a little boy, probably about three or four years of age and he's frowning at her.

"'Cuse me ma'am, you are sitting in my chair."

Regina smiles and scoots to the edge of the oversized reading chair so that she is closer to the boy. "Oh? I didn't know that this seat was already taken."

The boy beams at Regina, "Yep. I always sit in this chair because Momma can sit with me."

"Well, where's your mom at now?"

He's pointing now, and Regina follows his little arm to a blonde woman that is reading a book in the aisle directly in front of where her and the little boy are.

The woman looks up when she feels there are people looking in her direction and sees Henry talking to Regina. "Oh god, Henry!" She puts the book down and rushes over to them. She takes Henry's hand and gently pulls him towards her. "Henry, what are you doing?" Then she turns towards Regina, "I'm so sorry about this. I swear that I usually keep a better eye on him."

The woman is clearly flustered and probably embarrassed as well so Regina tries to reassure her. "It's not a problem at all." She looks over at the little boy and extends her hand. "Henry, is it? My father's name is Henry also. My name is Regina."

Henry hold out his chubby little hand and reaches for Regina's, "And Henry's _my_ name, too!" as he giggles.

Regina cannot help but smile at him. "Well, I'm sorry that I took your chair. Let me gather my things and then you can have it back."

The blonde crouches down so that she and Henry are face to face, "Henry, I've told you before that if someone else is sitting in this chair that we will find another. Now, apologize to Regina for being so rude to her."

Henry rubs at his eyes with the back of his hands and stomps his feet like he is about to throw a tantrum but ultimately he just sighs dramatically before he looks over at Regina and says, "I'm sowwy, Gina."

Regina tucks her book into her arm, grabs her bag and hot tea, and gets up anyway. "It's really not a problem, there are other chairs over on the other side that will be just as comfortable."

Henry beams and jumps into the chair almost as soon as Regina gets up. "YAY! It's my chair, Momma!" Regina smiles at the boy and nods at his mother and starts walking towards the other corner of the shop.

Emma glares at Henry and then turns to go after Regina. When she reaches Regina, she stops her so that she can try to explain, "Hey, I'm so sorry. We've been working on his assertiveness lately because he has a real difficult time verbalizing what he needs or wants and he hasn't exactly been able to deduce when or where it is appropriate for him to apply it." She frowns.

Regina smiles because the woman looks stressed and is clearly mortified by her son's behavior. "No, really, it's completely fine. I assure you." Emma finally nods and manages a small smile of relief before Regina turns and walks away.

Regina finds another chair and makes herself comfortable. She reads for about an hour when she realizes that she is finished with her tea so she collects her things and heads back to the cafe for another. There is a line of people now because it is close to lunchtime and she guesses that most people are probably there to order food as well. Her stomach grumbles at the thought of food and she decides that she should order something with her tea. She knows that it may take her a while to make it to the front of the line so she opens her book again and begins reading the next chapter. She finally reaches the cash register and orders another tea and an apple pastry. When she reaches for her wallet, the barista tells her that both her food and beverage have already been paid for. Regina is surprised to hear this. "What? By who?" The barista then points over to a table in the corner where Henry is waving at them. Regina smiles at the boy, thanks and tips the barista, and walks towards Henry and his mother's table with her things.

Regina smiles at Henry as she approaches them. "Why, hello again."

"Momma says that we buyed you a cookie and a juice because I was mean and didn't shared my chair."

Regina smiles at Henry who is now very happy with himself, "Thank you, Henry. That is very kind of you and your mom."

"Emma." Regina turns to her, a look of confusion on her face, so she clarifies, "my name is Emma." Emma is struck by how absolutely stunning Regina is. After their interaction earlier, Emma knew right away that she wanted to talk to Regina again. When Henry pointed out that she was a few people behind them in the cafe line, she came up with a plan to pay for her order so that she could get the brunette's attention.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Emma. And thank you again, but you really didn't have to do this. I was very glad to give up that seat for Henry."

"That may be the case but Henry and I don't want you to think that we didn't appreciate your gesture, isn't that right, Bub." She fluffs the top of his head when she says that causing him to squeal with delight.

"Momma! Stop that!" He flattens his hair with both hands and then looks up at Regina, "You should sit with us, Gina. I have cookies and juice, too."

Regina thinks that Henry's smile lights up the whole room and does not have the heart to tell the boy "no" so she agrees. She sits in the seat that is on the other side of him and across from his mother and when she looks to see that Emma is smiling at her, Regina immediately recognizes where the boy gets his beautiful smile.

"So, you and Henry must come here a lot if he has a designated chair." Regina frequents this bookshop and does not remember ever seeing them here before. She is sure that she would remember if she has previously crossed paths with Emma because the woman is exceptionally attractive which would make her difficult to forget.

"We only moved to the area about a month ago. But, I love reading. And Henry does, too." Henry nods when he hears this and mumbles something but neither Emma nor Regina can make out what he is saying because his mouth is full of cookie. Emma shakes her head and chuckles at her son, "Henry, please do not talk with your mouth full. It isn't very gentlemanly."

Henry picks up his sippy cup and takes a drink of his juice making sure that he has swallowed everything in his mouth before answering this time. "I love books!"

Regina laughs. "I do as well. Do you have a favorite book, Henry?"

Henry reaches at Emma excitedly while opening and closing his tiny hands which makes her shake her head and turn towards Regina with a smirk, "Uh oh, now you've gone and done it." Regina is confused for a minute but watches as Emma reaches into her bag pulling out a pink, hardcover children's book that has probably seen better days. She hands it to Henry and he hugs it before pushing it at Regina. "And now you're going to be stuck reading that with him for at least the next hour."

Regina looks down at the book and she recognizes it right away, _A Bargain For Frances_ , she reads. She has not seen this book in years and thinks that that her parents probably donated her worn out copy decades ago. "Henry, this was one of my favorite books when I was a little girl and it is a really great book. My older sister would read it to me almost every night." This makes the boy very excited as his eyes grow as wide as saucers.

"Can we wead it t'gether, Gina? Pease?" Henry pleads.

Before Regina can answer, Emma interrupts. "Bub, why don't we let Regina eat her food first and then we can read it later, okay?"

Once again, Henry looks like he is about to get very upset but when he looks to see his mother who is now glowering at him, he takes a deep breath and agrees, "kay, momma. Can I go play trains?"

"Don't you mean, please? And may I?"

"Momma, MAY I go play trains. Pease."

Regina watches as Emma pulls him out of his booster chair and puts him on the ground. She wipes his mouth of the cookie crumbs before patting him lightly on the bottom. He runs off to the children's corner just a few yards away and Emma moves the booster chair so that she could sit in the seat Henry was in. This way she can see exactly where Henry is playing.

Regina still has Henry's book in her hands, looking down at it. She is surprised at how nostalgic she is from seeing the book and without really thinking about it, she opens it up. When she sees what is inside, she is astonished once again. On the inside of the cover, in faded purple marker and incredibly messy handwriting, it says: _PROPERTY OF REGINA MILLS_. Regina gasps, "Oh my god. This is my book! The one that I had when I was a little girl." She flips it around so that Emma can see what she is talking about.

"Wait, what?! You're Regina Mills!? You have no idea how many times Henry has asked me if we can go find this person so that you two can share this book." Emma shakes her head in disbelief. "We bought that book in a used bookstore when we were visiting Boston last year. How weird. Wait until I tell Henry." Emma grins.

Regina looks at Emma still stunned and realizes that it is nearly impossible not to smile. "Wow. I...I still can't believe this. It's incredible." She hands the book back to Emma.

"It's definitely something." Seriously, what are the chances, Emma thinks to herself. Regina has her hands cupped around her hot tea now and they both get quiet. Before things get too uncomfortable, Emma speaks up again. "So, do you come to this place often?"

Regina takes a sip of her tea, "Yes, I suppose that I do. But lately, I've been rather busy and haven't had the time to stop in."

"Ah, well, that's why we haven't ever seen you around. I feel like we have been in here three or four times a week lately. Henry loves it here."

"It really is one of my favorite places." Regina takes a bite of her pastry hoping that Emma would continue the conversation.

"We had a bookstore that we loved when we lived in New York. Henry would have been very upset if we weren't able to find something similar so I'm grateful that I stumbled upon this place when we were out wandering the streets the first few days."

"Oh, so you and Henry are from New York? What brings you all the way to Washington?"

Emma shrugs. "We just needed a change, I think. I have a good friend that lives here and she persuaded me to come this way. Things didn't exactly work out between the kid's dad and I so there was nothing keeping us there. And he didn't really want anything to do with Henry in the end."

Regina frowns when she sees that Emma seems sad about that latter part. Regina cannot imagine anyone not wanting to be apart of that adorable little boy's life or his blonde mother's. "So, it's just you and Henry, then?"

"Yep. Just him and I against the world." Emma looks over at Henry and she smiles to herself. Henry really is her whole world. When she has those incredibly overwhelming days that make her question her decision to do it all on her own, she always seems to find peace just by looking at her little prince. He has given her the hope and courage that she never even knew that she possessed.

Regina is looking over at Emma and she looks as if she is deep in thought. Regina does not want to interrupt the moment but thinks that she should probably head back home; her parents are surely done antiquing by now. She gathers her things slowly and speaks up once she is all done, "Thank you again for the tea and pastry."

"Oh, it was my pleasure. I should be the one to thank you, for being so great with Henry. He adores you."

Regina chuckles, "well, I adore him as well. He's quite the charmer. I should probably get going though." She gets up from her chair so Emma does the same. She notices that Emma seems disappointed but thinks that she could just be misreading her.

Emma looks down at her feet awkwardly and speaks. "Oh, really? That's a bummer. I was really enjoying your company. I had almost forgotten how nice it is to hang out with other people and not just my three and a half year-old." She laughs at herself and looks up to see Regina smiling at her. Damn, this woman is so beautiful, Emma thinks. She really wishes that Regina could stay even a tiny bit longer. "Uh...maybe we'll run into you here again sometime soon?"

"That's definitely a possibility if you're here three or four days week." Regina chuckles. "I do try to come here as often as I am able to."

This makes Emma's heart beat a little faster and she is beaming all of a sudden. "Great. I'm really looking forward to it."

Regina has to admit that Emma is not only very attractive but something about her is very alluring. She would think that though because she has always had a knack for being drawn to straight women. And she thinks that it is safe to assume that Emma is straight since she had mentioned Henry's father being her most recent ex. So, instead of pursuing anything further, she pushes all the wishful thinking to the back of her mind. "May I say goodbye to Henry?"

"Oh, of course! I'll walk with you. I just have to grab our stuff." Emma makes sure to put Henry's book back into her bag and puts it over her shoulder. Then she walks Regina over to the children's book area where Henry is still playing with the wooden train set. "Henry, baby, Regina has to go home. Do you want to say goodbye."

Henry turns, "NO! Gina, we have to wead Fwances!"

Regina squats down next to the boy, "Henry, how about we meet here next week and we can read all of your favorite books together? I really have to go home to my mom and dad or else they will be worried about me."

Henry's lips quiver a bit and then he wraps his little arms around Regina's neck. "Kay, Gina. You pomise that we will wead all the books?"

The hug catches Regina off guard but she relaxes into it and hugs him back. "I promise. In fact, I should probably grab your mom's phone number before I leave so that I can make sure that I can find you two next time." She looks up at Emma to see that she has a look of surprise on her face and smiles at her shyly.

Henry squeezes her in excitement and then lets go so that he can wrap his arms around Emma's legs. "Momma! Regina says she will wead with me next time."

Emma laughs before leaning over and picking Henry up. She holds him up on her hip and turns her attention back to Regina. "You must be a glutton for punishment. You know, he's really going to be looking forward to seeing you again." She considers stopping there but quickly finds the courage to speak again. "And I'll have to admit, I'm pretty jealous that he scored himself such a beautiful reading date."

Regina blushes. Was Emma flirting with her? She decides that she may as well test the waters. "Well, as charming as Henry is," she reaches over and squeezes his side eliciting a fit of giggles, "I was hoping that I could maybe double it as another cookie and juice date with his mother as well." She smiles, more confident now than she was before Emma's compliment.

Emma is stunned but also ecstatic. "I would love that very much."

"Great. I believe that I will enjoy it immensely as well."

They are both lost in each other when Henry starts wiggling around in Emma's arm. "Momma, I want to play with the train!"

Emma puts Henry down and he goes back to what he was doing before he was interrupted by Regina and his mother. Emma reaches into her bag for a pen and and scrap paper that she might have. She finds her receipt from the cafe earlier and scribbles her cell phone number on it. When she is finished, she tears that part with the phone number off and hands it to Regina. "You can call or text me anytime. Henry and I are always free. And even if we aren't, we will be for you."

Regina smirks. "Well, Emma, I'm definitely going to hold you to that." She turns again to Henry, "Bye, Henry. I'll see you soon." Henry waves without even looking up from the trainset which makes Emma roll her eyes. "And bye Emma. I'll see you soon."

Emma is all smiles again. "Bye and I can't wait."

Emma watches as Regina leaves the shop and feels truly happy for the first time since leaving New York. She squats down and grabs Henry squeezing him while smothering him with kisses. "MOMMA!" he squeals as he pushes her away.

"Henry, you know what? I love you so much, baby."

"I know, Momma." he says.

Regina is at a stoplight on her way home when she thinks about how unplanned and random it is that she met Emma and Henry today. The fact that they share the same favorite chair in a bookshop that they absolutely love is not much of a coincidence. It is quite common seeing that a lot of people in this city enjoy good bookshops. But Henry loving her favorite children's book and his copy being the actual copy that she owned as a child was certainly freaky, to say the least. She is not sure what to make of it all. Then she thinks back to her conversation with Zelena. She considers this for a minute before grinning ear to ear. Maybe her timing is not as terrible as she thinks after all.


End file.
